Ketchikan and Wrangell AK

I think this post will break my all-time record for the number of photos in a post.  Most folks have commented they wanted more pictures, so here we go.  I'll try to minimize the narrative.

That said click HERE to view a short clip of yours truly driving the coach onto the MV Matanuska at Prince Rupert BC.

The ferry ramp at Prince Rupert

The container docks at Prince Rupert

Our parking space on the MV Matanuska northbound to Ketchikan 

Departing the MV Matanuska

Arriving at Ketchikan

Our passage from Prince Rupert to Ketchikan was 6 hours long  We arrived in Ketchikan after midnight on Saturday morning, so we headed north on the Tongass Highway and pulled into the Walmart for the night.  We were not alone.  There were at least 4 other vehicles that had been on the ferry that pulled in just after us.  The next morning we had breakfast at the Subway, bought a few groceries and headed to Signal Creek campground, our home for the next three nights.  Signal Creek Campground is on Ward Lake in the Tongass National Forest.   At 17 million acres the Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the nation.  It is a temperate rain forest stretching along most of the panhandle of southeast Alaska.

Walmart goes everywhere

Map of Tongass National Forest

Our home at Signal Creek Campground

It was a dreary day ... make that three dreary days ... at Signal Creek CG on Ward Lake

This common goldeneye seemed unfazed by the fowl weather

We hiked the loop trail around Ward Lake.  A day later half of this trail and several campsites were under water

Ketchikan gets an average of 150 inches of rain annually.  Most of that fell on Sunday.  The rest fell on Monday.

Ketchikan boasts of being Alaska's first city, as well as the salmon capitol of the world.

Historic Creek Street

Real estate is at a premium in Ketchikan

Dolly's, where both men and salmon came upstream to spawn

Ketchikan is the first stop for cruise ships coming up the inside passage from Seattle.  There are generally 3 to 4 ships in port on any given day.  When the cruise ships leave in the afternoon they roll up the sidewalks.  Then there is a huge traffic jam as all the gift shop workers head home and to the bars.

They had to park this ship on the sidewalk

Donald Duck was still working on his ship when they landed.

The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center is operated by the National Forest Service.  It has a number of great exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the Ketchikan area.  They show a multitude of short films all day long.  We had no internet service at our camp (a real inconvenience for producing this journal), so we hung out a bit there to dry out and to do our internet thing.

Southeast Alaska Discovery Center

The cafe at the Safeway store was another hangout for us

A mature and immature bald eagle

We had lunch at The Dirty Dungee one afternoon

Dorcas says "I don't know about this..."

Ketchikan has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles.  One day we visited Totem Bight State Historical Park.

The totems are taking a nap

And then a bus load of tourists dropped in

These signs pointed up the steepest hills in town

Hanging and drying out

A wildlife sighting of the invertebrate kind

Everybody in Ketchikan has a boat and/or a float plane

On Tuesday we boarded the ... you guessed it ... the MV Matanuska for our passage to Petersburg.   We had a 6-hour passage to Wrangell, where we would have a 45 minute layover before continuing to Petersburg.

Pole position to board at Ketchikan to Petersburg

Once again on the Matanuska, bound for Petersburg

Dorcas backed the Element into the bow section

The Ketchikan airport is on a different island across the channel from town.  One must take a ferry to get to the airport.

The airport ferry

Cruise ships and sailing ships.

The MV Matanuska is a workhorse for the AMHS and ranges from Bellingham WA to Skagway AK.     The following photos show some of the amenities on the MV Matanuska

The serving line at the cafeteria on the MV Matanuska

Dorcas in the recliner lounge on the MV Matanuska

The dining room on the MV Matanuska

The Solarium deck on the MV Matanuska

They even have free showers for those smelly travelers

The recliner lounge

The forward observation lounge

Coming up to the dock at Wrangell

Ferry ramp in Wrangell

After 6 hours in the coach Matilda runs up the ramp for a break at Wrangell

Following are some of the sights in Wrangell.

Re-boarding at Wrangell for the final leg to Petersburg

Photo of the Week - Gertrude and Heathcliff

A conversation overheard between two bald eagles perched in a tree:

Mature bald eagle:  "I think I have fleas"

Immature bald eagle:  "Me too!"

The Yellowhead Highway from Jasper to Prince Rupert

On Wednesday we departed Jasper headed west on the Yellowhead Highway towards Prince Rupert BC, 680 miles away.  The weather forecast for points along our route for the next 5 days was for near constant rain.





We quickly crossed the border into British Columbia and into Mt. Robson Provincial Park.

Matilda herds the Canada geese

After we dropped out of the Rockies, the terrain and scenery were less spectacular.  It was kinda like northern Minnesota, but with less pot holes.  We stopped at the Costco in Prince George and pumped 345 liters (92 gallons) of fuel.

We spent Wednesday night at a great free campground in Burns Lake.

We found this place on free campsites.net

There were about a dozen campsites with a great view of the lake.

They even had Pickleball!

I've played Pickleball on a number of different surfaces, but never at a curling rink

Houston is the Steelhead capitol of the world.  A steelhead salmon is essentially a migratory rainbow trout.  They boast the worlds largest fly rod.

Let's go fishin'! 

Eventually we entered the Coastal Range mountains and again enjoyed spectacular scenery.  It continued to mist and rain, which added a different dimension to the views.

The driving mileage count:  Myron-3492; Dorcas-0

 After three weeks and 3492 miles on the road, the coach was filthy.  I asked Dorcas to see if she could look on-line and find an RV wash down the road.  Before she could act (sometimes she's a little slow) we stumbled onto the Suds 'N Bay in Smithers BC.

One might ask why Dorcas is doing the washing. Well, someone had to take the pictures.  Actually we took turns.

Baby gets a bath.  The motor home too.

The coach and the car looked much better after the bath, but our efforts were somewhat wasted.  It continued to rain, and both were quickly dirty again.

 We stopped for Thursday night at the Kinnikinnick Campground and RV Park, a Passport America park (i.e. half price camping), in Port Edward BC.  We stayed here in 2011, and it is only about 12 miles from the ferry docks in Prince Rupert.

It was a dreary day at camp in Port Edward.  Little change in the weather is expected for the next week

Our ferry to Ketchikan didn't depart until after 6:00 pm, so we had a little time to kill in the greater Port Edward area.  We visited the North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site, the last intact salmon cannery of dozens that once existed along the North Pacific coast.  The cannery operated in the early 1900s and most of the buildings and equipment are still intact.  Here they illustrate the canning process from when the fish are unloaded at the docks until the product is warehoused for shipment.  When the cannery first opened it used much manual labor, but the various processes were mechanized as time went on.

Today ends our long cross-continental journey and begins the Alaskan phase of our Great Alaska Adventure.  This afternoon we will board the MV Matanuska for a 6-hour ferry passage to Ketchikan AK.